Photographic processing mechanism



N0 11 1969 F, P. RAY ETAL 3,477,356` 1 I PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSING MECHANISM l 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed May 4, 1967 V Nov. 11, 1969 l RP. RAY ETAL 3,477,356

PHOTOGRAPHIC PRocEssING MECHANISM Filed May 4, 1967 l 2 sneetsfsneet z United States Patent O 3,477,356 PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSING MECHANISM Ford P. Ray, Hauppauge, N.Y., and Thomas W. Slingsby, Old Saybrook, Coun., assgnors to Peerless Photo Products, Inc., Shoreham, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed May 4, 1967, Ser. No. 636,081

Int. Cl. G03d 3/12 U.S. Cl. 95--94 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A photographic processing mechanism which has a reservoir for activator solution and a reservoir for stabilizer solution. Three applicator rollers are mounted in each reservoir to apply activator and stabilizer solution to a photosensitive sheet. Each of the applicator rollers has a roughness of over 50 microinch ASA, and preferably between 8() and 100 microinch ASA. The activator solution rollers are rotated at a speed of from about 20 to about 34 feet per minute and the stabilizer solution rollers are rotated at a speed of from about 14 to about 23 feet per minute. The diameter of each of the applicator rollers are between /8 of an inch and 1 inch, and preferably are about 3%: of an inch. A plurality of spaced guides are mounted above the rollers substantially at right angles to the axes of the rollers. The guides have an undulating lower surface to form grooves above each of the rollers. A feed roller assembly is provided which has a press down roller and a feed roller which has a plurality of space gripping surfaces thereon. An eXit roller assembly is provided comprising an exit roller with a plurality of spaced gripping surfaces thereon. A wiper blade assembly is positioned below the exit roller and comprises a body portion having two wiper blades extending in opposite directions therefrom. An opening is provided at the juncture between the wiper blade and the body portion to permit excess solution to pass therethrough and the exit roller is positioned between the apexes of said diverging wiper blades.

Brief summary of invention The present invention relates to a photographic processing mechanism and more particularly to an improved photographic processing mechanism which will apply processing solutions to a photosensitive sheet in correct amounts.

Photographic processing mechanisms have been widely used in recent years for processing photosensitive sheets. They are adapted to process an exposed photosensitive sheet by moving it through a plurality of solutions. The irst solution, generally called an activator solution, develops the image on the sheet and the second solution, generally called a stabilizer solution, sets or fixes the image.

However, a number of these prior photographic processing mechanisms rely on the use of pinch or squeegee applicator rollers in order to apply the processing solutions to the photosensitive sheet. It has been discovered that the use of pinch rollers does not insure that the proper amount of solution is applied to the photosensitive sheet. It has also been noted that the reverse side of the photosensitive sheet becomes contaminated and staining results. In addition there is a general instability due to over-stabilization.

Photographic processing mechanisms have also been used which do not rely on pinch rollers for application of the solutions but rather move the photosensitive sheet over a plurality of applicator rollers which are provided with stationary guides mounted above the rollers to cause 3,477,356 Patented Nov. 11, 1969 ice the photosensitive sheet to have the solutions applied thereto. In using such mechanisms, it has been found that there is insufficient time between the application of the activator and stabilizer solutions so that the resulting print is inferior. Machines in use which are slow enough to give suicient time between activator and stabilizer solutions do not process at commercially competitive speeds.

It was also found that in existing machines the spacing of the paper guides over the applicator rollers is so great that there is danger of buckling of the photosensitive sheet as it passes over the rollers. In addition such prior machines do not have a wiper mechanism which is completely effective to remove all excess or remaining solutions from the sheet.

The present invention overcomes these drawbacks and has for one of its objects the provision of an improved photographic processing mechanism which will insure that proper amounts of activator and stabilizer solutions will be applied to a photosensitive sheet.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved photographic processing mechanism which avoids the necessity of dipping the photosensitive sheet into the solutions.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved photographic processing mechanism which avoids the use of pinch rollers for applying the solutions.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved photographic processing mechanism which permits sufficient time between the application of activator and stabilizer solutions.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved photographic processing mechanism in which the sheet does not tend to buckle.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved photographic processing mechanism which has an improved wiper mechanism.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

Brief description of several views A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. l is a side view partly in section of the photographic processing mechanism made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective detail showing the movement of the photosensitive sheet over the applicator rollers;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the feeding mechanism taken along line 3 3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the guide means taken along line 4-4 of FIG. l;

FIG. S is an enlarged sectional view of the wiper blade used with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an improved wiper blade; and i FIG. 7 is a top view of the improved wiper blade.

Detailed description Referring more particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawings the photographic processing mechanism 1 of the present invention comprises an entrance opening 2 and an exit opening 3. A feed roller assembly 4 is positioned adjacent the entrance opening 2 and an exit roller assembly 5 is positioned adjacent the exit opening 3.

A solution tray assembly 6 is mounted between feed and exit roller assemblies 4 and 5 and comprises an activator trough 7 adapted to hold activator solution 8, a stabilizer trough 9 adapted to hold stabilizer solution 10 and an excess solution trough 35. A plurality of activator applicator rollers 15 are mounted in the activator trough 7 and a plurality of stabilizer applicator rollers 16 are mounted in the stabilizer trough 9. The applicator rollers 15 and 16 are adapted to apply activator and stabilizer solutions to a photosensitive sheet S passing thereabove.

Mounted above the applicator rollers 15 and 16 and substantially at right angles thereto are a plurality of closely spaced guides 17. Each guide 17 has an undulating lower surface in the form of grooves 18 and 19 adapted to receive or provide clearance for the applicator rollers 15 and 16.

With this structure the photosensitive sheet S is fed by the feed roller assembly 4 over the activator applicator rollers 15 in the activator solution trough 7 so that applicator solution 8 is applied thereto. Thereafter the sheet S passes over the stabilizer applicator rollers 16 so that stabilizer solution 10 is applied thereto. The sheet S describes an undulating path as it passes between applicator rollers 15 and 16 and guides 17 since it conforms to the contours of the undulating lower surface comprising grooves 18 and 19 of the guides 17.

The sheet S is then moved out of the machine by the exit roller assembly and is passed over a wiper blade assembly 40 in order to remove excess solution therefrom which is deposited in excess solution trough 35.

The feed roller assembly 4 comprises a driven feed roller 20 having a plurality of spaced gripping surfaces 21, which are preferably in the form of O-rings. A pressure roller 22 is mounted on top of the feed roller 20 and applies pressure to a photosensitive sheet S in order to permit the gripping surfaces of the feed roller 20 to grasp the sheet S. Preferably, the feed roller 20 is rotated at a speed of about 8.5 feet per minute. At this speed, the sheet S will move fast enough to satisfy present commercial requirements and, at the same time, the sheet S will move slowly enough to have the proper amounts of solutions applied thereon by the solution rollers 15 and 16.

The drawing shows the use of the invention with three activator applicator rollers 15 and three stabilizer applicator rollers 16, however, a greater number of rollers may be used if desired. The use of three or more applicator rollers in each trough insures that suicient time will elapse between the application of the activator solution and the stabilizer solution for the solutions to become elective without sacrificing the speed with which the photosensitive sheet is processed.

The applicator rollers 15 and 16 are preferably made of 316 stainless steel with a surface roughness sufcient to pick up solution from the trough and apply it to the sheet S. The roughness of the surface of the rollers is preferably in the range of between 80-100 microinch ASA average surface roughness and have an average peak to valley range of about 340 microinches.

The roughness of the applicator rollers permits the right amount of solution to be picked up and applied to the sheet S. If the rollers are too smooth, say below 50 microinch ASA surface roughness, the effectiveness is hindered.

The rollers 15 and 16 are preferably about 1% inches in diameter. The diameters of the rollers are important to prevent dipping without sacrificing the strength of the rollers. It has been found that a diameter of between inch to 1 inch, and preferably 3A inch, provides a roller which is strong enough to span the length of the machine without being so close to guides 17 as to cause dipping of the sheet S into the troughs.

The rollers 15 and 16 are rotated at different speeds. The activator solution rollers 15 are rotated at from about 20 to about 34 feet per minute and the stabilizer solution rollers are rotated at from about 14 to about 23 feet per minute.

The guides 17 which are mounted above the rollers 15 and 16 are preferably spaced from each other a suicient distance to prevent any buckling or bowing of the photosensitive sheet S as it passes thereunder. Furthermore, the guides 17 are spaced above the rollers 15 and 16 a sufficient distance so that the photosensitive sheet S is forced to touch the surface of the rollers 15 and 16 but does not dip into the solution troughs 7 or 9.

The exit roller assembly. 5 comprises a roller 30` having spaced friction gripping members 31 thereon, preferably in the form of O-rings. The exit roller assembly 5 will grip the processed sheet S and move it out of the machine through the exit opening 3.

The Wiper blade assembly 40 is located immediately below the exit roller assembly 5 and is positioned in the excess solution trough 35 in the tray 6.and has a pair of wiper bars 36 and 37 extending from either side of an upstanding body portion 38. The wiper bars 36 and 37 are so positioned with respect to the exit roller 30 that the photosensitive sheet S is forced into contact with both of the wiper bars 36 and 37 as it passes thereby so that excess solution is wiped olf. A series of openings 39 are provided in the upper part of the body portion 38 where the wiper bars 36 and 37 converge so that excess solution wiped from the sheet S will fall down through the openings 39 and accumulate in the trough 35 in the tray 6.

The operation of the invention will be obvious from the above description but will be summarized for convenience. An exposed photosensitive sheet S is passed into the machine through entrance opening 2 and is gripped lby the feed roller assembly 4 which moves the sheet S over the applicator rollers 15 and 16 and beneath the guide 17. The sheet S -moves along a generally undulating path and first has the activator solution 8 applied thereto by the activator applicator rollers 15 and then the stabilizer solution 10 is applied thereto by the stabilizer applicator rollers 16. The sheet S is then picked up by the exit roller assembly 15 which moves it out of the machine. At the same time the sheet S is caused to brush against the two raised Wiper bars 36 and 37 so that any excess solution is wiped off.

It will thus be seen that the present invention pro- Vides an improved photographic processing machine will insure that solutions in the proper amount will be applied to the photosensitive sheet, which avoids dipping of the sheet into the solutions without buckling and which avoids the use of pinch rollers. The present invention also provides an improved photographic processing mechanism which per-mits sufficient time between the activator and stabilizer sections to allow the activator and stabilizer solutions to be eiective and which has an improved wiper blade arrangement.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts hereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, We claim:

1. A photographic processing mechanism comprising a reservoir for activator solution and a reservoir for stabilizer solution, at least three applicator rollers in each of said reservoirs, said activator solution rollers being rotated at greater speeds than the stabilizer solution rollers, a plurality of spaced guides mounted above `said rollers, said guides being substantially at right angles to the axes Aof the rollers, each of said guides having an undulating lower surface to form grooves above each of said rollers, feed rollers for moving a photosensitive sheet between said guides and said applicator and stabilizer rollers so that activator solution is applied thereto and stabilizer solution is applied thereto, means for moving said photosensitive sheet out of said photographic processing Amechanism comprising an exit roller and a fixed wiper blade assembly below said exit roller.

2. A photographic processing mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein said applicator rollers have a roughened surface having a roughness above 50 microinch ASA.

3. A photographic processing mechanism as claimed in claim 2, whereby the roughness of said rollers are between 80 and 100 microinch ASA.

4. A photographic processing mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein said activator solution rollers are rotated at from about to about 34 feet per minute and wherein said stabilizer solution rollers are rotated at from about 14 to about 23 feet per minute. f

5. A photographic processing mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the diameter of ea-oh of said applicator rollers is between 5/s of an inch and 1 inch.

6. A photographic processing mechanism. as claimed in claim 5, wherein the diameter of each of said rollers is about 3%: of an inch.

7. A photographic processing mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein a feed roller assembly is provided comprising `a press down roller and a feed roller, said feed roller having a plurality of spaced gripping surfaces thereon.

8. A photographic processing mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein an exit roller assembly is provided comprising an exit roller and a plurality of spaced gripping surfaces on said roller.

9. A photographic processing mechanism as claimed in claim 8, wherein said -wiper blade assembly is provided comprises a body portion, at least one wiper blade extending therefrom and an opening in the juncture between said wiper blade and said body portion to permit excess solution to pass therethrough.

10. A photographic processing mechanism as claimed in claim 9, wherein said wiper bar assembly has two wiper blades extending in opposite directions from said body portion.

11. A photographic processing mechanism comprising a reservoir for activator solution and a reservoir for stabilizer solution at least three applicator rollers in each of said reservoirs, each of said applicator rollers having a roughness of between and 100 microinch ASA, said activator solution rollers being rotated at a speed of from about 20 to about 34 feet per minute, said stabilizer solution rollers being rotated at a speed of from about 14 to about 23 feet per minute, the diameter of each of said applicator rollers being about 3A of an inch, a plurality of spaced guides mounted above said rollers, said guides being substantially at right angles to the axes of said rollers and having an undulating lower surface to form grooves above each of the rollers, means for moving a photosensitive sheet between said guides and said rollers so that the activator and stabilizer solutions are applied thereto, said moving means comprising a feed roller assembly having a press down roller and a feed roller, said feed roller having a plurality of spaced gripping surfaces thereon, means for moving said photosensitive sheet out of said photographic processing meshanism, said means comprising an exit roller asembly comprising an exit roller having a plurality of spaced gripping surfaces thereon, a wiper blade assembly is positioned below said exit roller assembly and comprising a body portion having two wiper blades extending in opposite directions therefrom, an opening at the juncture between said wiper blade and said body portion to permit excess solution to pass therethrough, said exit roller being positioned between the apexes of said diverging wiper blades.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,000,287 9/ 1961 Heldens 95-94 XR 3,107,596 10/ 1963 Arnold et al 95--89 3,301,156 1/1967 Roeber 95-89 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,337,297 8/1963 France.

1,392,326 2/ 1965 France.

1,002,364 8/ 1965 Great Britain.

NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner F. L. BRAUN, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

